back bench
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of back bench
First recorded in 1870–75
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Dalton Rushing was shown on the game broadcast breaking his bat in the dugout and slamming his leg guard on the back bench after striking out in the fourth inning.
From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2026
“Members get elected up here and they get stuck on the back bench and they have to listen and don’t really get a chance to speak,” Mr. Hern said.
From Washington Times • Dec. 9, 2022
"But I don't think he's going to just sit there throwing rocks from the back bench either."
From BBC • Sep. 3, 2022
He has gone from being a powerful chairman of two committees to an outsider who sits — literally every day Congress is in session — on the very back bench of the House chamber.
From Washington Post • Dec. 2, 2021
We chose a back bench because nobody wanted to sit behind Grandma.
From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
